Series celebrating the infinite variety of the natural world and its depiction in culture. In the final episode of the series we present our swan song. Ethereally white and otherworldy, the Swan has featured in countless fairytales and myths. Brett Westwood gets up close with bird itself, paddling and snuffling his way through 2000 years of cultural history. On its way he visits ancient Greece, Swan Lake, and Putin's Russia. He hears the swan-infused poetry of WB Yeats, and finds out whether...

Its arguable that a certain dinner-suited bird has captured our hearts and minds more than any other creature over the centuries. As Brett Westwood discovers, Penguins remind us of ourselves - Like us they stand upright, they travel in groups, they communicate all the time and they walk (or waddle) on land. They have both entertained us and taught us life lessons. Our earliest encounters with Penguins very often resulted in the slaughter of these flightless birds for food and oil and they may...

The story of our relationship with Orchids is a story of obsession, money, deceit, beauty, femme fatales, ghosts deception and let's be honest, sex. Orchid flowers come in a variety of colours, shapes and sizes - but they all have one thing in common - they have evolved to maximise their chances of luring a pollinator and be fertilised - and they do so with such style! It's easy to see why have they captivated and lured us too! Producer Sarah Blunt.

Dogs have changed us and we've changed them. Brett Westwood visits Battersea to meet the animals whose history is most inextricably linked with our own. And in the process very nearly loses a furry microphone cover to an enthusiastic lurcher named Trevor (pictured above)... As the first domestic animals, dogs made it possible for humans to spread into the areas of the world that they did, to eat more protein and to take up activities from hunting to sledding. But it was only in the Victorian...

Brett Westwood on the Komodo dragon - myth, monster and reality. With contributions from Mark Carwardine, Antonia Quirke and Joe Capon of the Attenborough Komodo Dragon House.

Holding what looks like a television aerial, reptile ecologist Nigel Hand strides across the heath. It may look something out of a science fiction movie, but as Nigel explains to Brett Westwood he is on a serious quest; searching for adders. These adders he has previously caught and fitted with tiny radio transmitters and the aerial is used to track and follow them as he learns more about the behaviour and habits of these much misunderstood snakes. Like Nigel, Brett Westwood has been...

Brett Westwood explores our relationship with an Arctic Legend, the Narwhal. This Unicorn of the Sea is not only extraordinary in appearance, but tantalisingly difficult to study!

Brett Westwood looks at the history of a bird which has become a byword for male beauty. It's all about the tail: inspiration for everyone from Darwin to Oscar Wilde, from poets to peacocking pop stars. In Lancashire, Brett walks among peacocks of every shade and type, and with colour scientist Pete Vukusic explores the secrets of the bird's shimmering, iridescent appeal. Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, a natty dresser himself, explains the birds influence on pioneering artist Aubrey Beardsley,...

With its playful, hand-holding, pebble-juggling ways, the otter wins the cuteness contest with its eyes closed. It's no wonder such a stunningly elegant and charismatic animal has been the star of films and books and the inspiration for thousands to make pilgrimages to rivers in Devon or rings of bright water in Scotland. But do not be deceived. As Brett Westwood discovers, this elusive wild animal is a skilled and ferocious predator and, given half a chance, he'll have your fingers off!...

Brett Westwood explores how our idea of the dung beetle has morphed over the ages. The most sacred symbol in Egyptian ideology, the scarab beetle was also the butt of Classical Greek jokes, the inspiration for anti-conceptual art, the go-to filthy vermin for use in moralising fables and more recently the source of celestial wonder for poets. Brett visits an enormous scarab sculpture at the British museum with entomologist Richard Jones, who has brought along his collection of favourite...

Brett Westwood embraces the Willow. A tree celebrated across cultures for its beauty and versatility, it's the tree we’ve hugged closer than any other. Brett learns from Joan Armatrading how the willow can take away our pain, and visits the willow fields of the Somerset levels, where tall-growing willows sway like a bamboo forest. As it weeps by our waterways and whispers in our hedgerows, it’s given us endless laments, has been used by witches for magic wands and broomsticks, and has...

Brett Westwood was twelve years old when he first encountered a pike between the pages of T.H.White’s book, The Sword in the Stone and yet the description of the pitiless monster still raises the hairs on the back of Brett’s neck. In this, the first in a new series of Natural Histories, Brett has an unnerving encounter with a living pike, and meets an angler, a taxidermy collector, a diver and fish artist, and a heraldry expert as he ventures into dark waters to explore our relationship with...

Forget your Grammys and Oscars, there's only one awards ceremony that everyone's talking about... Well, nearly everyone. Well, mainly animals really. The Natural Histories Comedy Awards! Presented by the completely jawsome Shaun Keaveny (BBC 6 Music), it features comedy monologues from the totally fintastic David Schneider (BBC TVs The Day Today, Knowing Me, Knowing You... with Alan Partridge), the meteoric Harriet Carmichael, and the dung-believable Kathy Clugston. From a parrot with...

Lonely male whale seeks female with good sense of humour. Interests include eating plankton and listening to Barry Manilow. Natural Histories comedy with David Schneider.

Do you need an excuse to miss an awkward family reunion? Look no further than Boutique Bubos, a bespoke bijou disease service run by an industrious flea. Natural Histories comedy with David Schneider.

An Australian cockroach struggles to arrange a family reunion for 4500 relatives. At least she's got the catering sorted... Natural Histories comedy with Harriet Carmichael.

A scarab beetle writes a letter to her son and reveals a dark secret about his father... He was a dung beetle. Natural Histories comedy with Kathy Clugston.

Look out! There's a strict oak tree headmistress channelling Joyce Grenfell: "Robinson you will NOT be going on to do great things if you can’t leave your peduncle alone!" Natural Histories comedy with Harriet Carmichael.

A Hornbill struggles to come to terms with fatherhood: "This sounds horrible, but they're so ugly!" Natural Histories Comedy with David Schneider.

Andrew Parker explains why Antoni van Leeuwenhoek is his Natural History Hero.

George Beccaloni explains why Alfred Russel Wallace his is Natural History Hero.

Erica McAllister explains why George Verrall is her Natural History Hero.

Beulah Garner explains why entomologist Evelyn Cheesman is her Natural History Hero.

Sea anemones can live forever. Unfortunately this one isn't too happy about it, so she's booked an appointment with her doctor: "No, I don’t want to look younger. Older. Please." Natural Histories comedy with Harriet Carmichael.